DEERFIELD TWP. — There's a new plan for an upscale shopping center on Mason-Montgomery Road in Deerfield — a year and a half after Nordstrom pulled out of the project.

        Hot on the heels of several competing efforts in nearby West Chester Township, Duke Realty Corp. is proposing a cluster of shops in an open-air setting.

        “It's the next generation of Rookwood Commons,” Tim Hershner, Deerfield's community development director, said Tuesday.

        Township Administrator Greg Horwedel called it a “superior plan.”

        Duke officials, who could not be reached for comment, will debut their plans before the Warren County Regional Planning Commission on Thursday. The Indianapolis-based developer is seeking rezoning and site-plan approval for a 432,000-square-foot development on 45 acres across from Procter & Gamble.

        The $45 million project — to be built by Rookwood developer Jeff Anderson and Columbus-based Casto — is less than half the size of the Nordstrom-anchored mall proposed in 2000. The department store later backed out.

        “It differs from Rookwood Commons in that it's more pedestrian-oriented,” Mr. Hershner said. The parking areas will include more landscaping and walkways and even an area for small community gatherings, according to Duke's plan.

        Possible tenants include PF Chang's China Bistro, a two-story Dick's Sporting Goods and at least three newcomers to the Cincinnati area, Mr. Hershner said. However, it will be competing for tenants with a planned Monroe mall and at least two similar projects at Union Centre Boulevard and Interstate 75 — Cousins Properties' The Avenue of West Chester and Continental Retail Development's The Streets of West Chester.

        “I'm confident that if we build it here, the people will come and support it,” Mr. Hershner said.

        The rezoning and site-plan approvals are on the fast track: Duke hopes to get final approval from township trustees in September and open the “lifestyle center” by fall 2003 or spring 2004, Mr. Hershner said. But he doesn't expect the road to be smooth.

        “What I haven't heard, and I expect to hear, is people who want to shut the door, lock it, and say, "No more growth.”'

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